Share “Azarenka, Stephens set up rematch at...”

Azarenka, Stephens set up rematch at Aussie Open

Published on NewsOK
Modified: January 18, 2014 at 5:22 am •
Published: January 18, 2014

Advertisement

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Sloane Stephens believes she's changed a lot in the year since her Australian Open semifinal loss to Victoria Azarenka — a match that became clouded in controversy when the Belarussian took a medical timeout after wasting five match points, halting Stephens' momentum.

Sloane Stephens of the U.S. servers to Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Stephens said she doesn't get flustered as easily now and she's not overwhelmed by matches on the big stages. She's also learning to focus on herself and tune out distractions on the other side of the net.

In short, she's ready for a rematch against Azarenka.

The second-seeded Azarenka and 13th-seeded Stephens set up a meeting in the fourth round at this year's Australian Open with straight-set wins on Saturday.

Azarenka, the two-time defending champion, needed just an hour to dispatch Austrian Yvonne Meusburger 6-1, 6-0, while Stephens had a more challenging time in her 7-5, 6-4 win over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

The two haven't played since last year's contentious semifinal. Stephens characterized their off-court relationship as "nonexistent."

While last year's match was not particularly close — Azarenka won it 6-1, 6-4 — it certainly didn't lack for drama. Azarenka was serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set when Stephens saved five match points and broke serve, prompting a clearly flustered Azarenka to call a medical timeout. She returned after nine minutes and promptly finished off the match.

Immediately afterward, Azarenka said in an on-court interview that she almost committed the "choke of the year." Although she later said she misunderstood the question about the timeout. The medical staff reported that the timeout was to treat Azarenka's left knee and rib injuries, not her breathing.